City Seeks Applicants to Fill Council Vacancy

On Monday, Mayor-elect told City Council members of her wishes for a process to fill the vacancy when she resigns her council seat next month and is inaugurated mayor. 

Immediately after her Rotering said she wanted to see a transparent, collaborative process with input from the entire City Council, including its three new members. As Monday's presession ended, City Manager David Limardi encouraged Rotering to share her ideas. 

“Our goal is to have an inclusive process by which the members of the council choose its seventh member of the team,” Rotering said. 

Rotering wants people seeking the appointment to submit an application letter along with a resume. After the applications are reviewed by the City Council, there will be interviews.

Rotering indicated follow-up interviews would be part of the process. The council will then vote on its newest member.

The city, which formally announced the process Tuesday, invites applicants to send a 250-word letter of interest by May 13 to City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Ave. The letter should be addressed to Mayor-elect Nancy Rotering, care of the City Manager's office.

Interested applicants should "have a strong interest in serving the community and an ability to attend evening meetings," according to a press release from the city. Council meetings start at 4:30 p.m. and are held on the second and forth Mondays of every month.

Deliberations for the new member will also include Councilmen-elect , and . The council hopes to fill the vacancy by its June 13 meeting. 

will become the when she is sworn in May 9. Frank, Blumberg and Naftzger will take their seats at the same time.

Terms expire that night for Mayor Mike Belsky and Councilmen Larry Silberman and Scott Levenfeld. All three chose not to seek another term.

Councilwoman ’s term also concludes May 9. She lost a narrow race to Rotering for mayor on April 5. 

For more information on applying for the council seat, click on the PDF image above.

Other council news

At the regularly schedule meeting, the City Council nearly rejected a joint agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for repairs on Half Day Road between Highway 41 and Waukegan Road.

At the last minute, the matter was tabled until April 25, when a IDOT representative will be required to appear. 

The proposed contract was part of a routine omnibus motion to approve a variety of projects. Rotering asked for discussion on the matter out of concern that some residents north of Half Day Road would no longer be able to make a left turn to head eastbound on Highway 22 from their street. 

“Have all the people been given notice?” Rotering asked Public Works Director Mary Anderson. “It will be a harsh awakening to have to do more to get to the highway.” 

Anderson explained the work was scheduled in 2004 when notice was given. The project was put on hold by IDOT and is now ready to proceed.

The council further retrenched when Councilman Jim Kirsch asked what benefit the project would have for Highland Park residents. 

“I can think of no benefit,” Anderson said. “It’s not a good use of our resources to take on IDOT,” she added with a warning. 

The council was poised to make that challenge to the state when Limardi made a plea to the council. He explained this part of a long-term project to make Half Day Road a four-lane highway from Lake Zurich to Highland Park. 

“Sometimes we have to be part of a larger project for the greater good,” Limardi said. “This proposal has been on the table for a number of years. There are very few east-west thoroughfares in Lake County.” 

Silberman was swayed by Limardi’s argument and moved for approval. When no one seconded the motion, the council was ready to move to the next item. Limardi made another argument and Olian seconded Silberman’s motion. 

The proposal was then tabled by a 6-0 vote so an IDOT representative could appear April 25. Belsky was not present at the meeting to vote. 

In another matter, the city postponed a vote on a variance for a proposed subdivision on Lake Cook Road just east of Highway 41 until November. When the proposal was called for discussion, the city's corporation counsel, Steve Elrod, told council members that there may be no need for action after Nov. 18. The council then acted on his advice.